Two-wheeled barrel organ: 20th century

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Two-wheeled barrel organ. Barrel organ mounted on a two-wheeled wooden cart. Performers and musicians were a popular feature of London life. By the start of the 20th century there were up to 500 barrel organs such as this one on the streets. Many of London's barrel organs were made by firms run by Italian immigrants; the firm Pasquale & Co in Phoenix Place, London, made this organ. Organ-grinders usually hired organs on a daily basis from firms such as G. Marini of Whitechapel Road. The hire-charge for an organ was about one shilling and eightpence per day; the organ-grinders earned takings of up to five shillings a day. The organ grinder turned the crank on the side of the organ. This rotated a cylinder inside and made the organ play a tune.